TGJ Replay: Missy Elliott’s ‘Under Construction’

Much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’ segments, readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past. So in a quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday we introduced a new retrospective segment – ‘TGJ Replay’.

Unlike its ‘Rewind’ and ‘Vault’ predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase albums (and eras) from a library of pop music hits. Today, we go back to Missy Elliott’s best selling album to date – 2002’s ‘Under Construction’. It all awaits under the hood…

After littering charts with hits like ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’, ‘All In My Grill’, and ‘Get Ur Freak On’ from her three previous releases, 2002 saw singer/songwriter/rapper/producer Missy Elliott return to the lab to mix a follow-up.

Titled ‘Under Construction’, the album would be Elliott’s first offering post-death of friend/R&B princess Aaliyah. The loss would act as a muse for many of Missy’s forthcoming offerings – sonically and visually. Alternatively, Missy was celebrating the other significant loss in her life – weight.

Showing off a new figure and bringing on board her longtime collaborator Timbaland to act as co-executive producer on the project, the two birthed what would later become the best selling female rap album of all time.

Kicked off by the funky fresh, Run DMC-sampled tune ‘Work It’…

‘Work It’

It was abundantly clear that Elliott was playing approximately no games with this release. With Dave Meyers in tow as director of the song’s eccentric video, the song quickly shot to the top of charts. Not only reaffirming Missy’s reign as one of rap’s most visually creative artists, but also landing the Virginian femcee her biggest solo hit to date.

It’s Ludacris-assisted follow-up ‘Gossip Folks’ had people talking just as much. The tune, which saw the duo reteam after their 2001 ‘One Minute Man’ hit, quickly shot to the U.S. top 10. Its video, yet again directed by Missy’s go-to video guy Dave Meyers, brought its lyrics to life and weighed in many-a-controversial topic surrounding the hip hop hitmaker at the time (see: weight, sexuality, etc.).

‘Gossip Folks’

Combined, the tunes helped the album shift over 250k its first week and, as of 2012, it has shifted ten times that. Landing in history books as the best selling rap album by a female rap artist and giving Missy her best solo numbers to date.

Lined with gems like ‘Nothin Out There For Me (feat. Beyonce)’ and its third, sexually explicit single ‘Pussycat (feat. Tweet)’…

‘Pussy Cat’ (featuring Tweet)

‘Nothin Out There For Me’ (featuring Beyonce)

The album is still considered one of the millenium’s best hip hop offerings over a decade since its release. The album’s critical acclaim led it to ‘Best Rap Album’ and ‘Album of the Year’ nominations at the 2003 Grammys.

Such acclaim is a sentiment shared by us here at TGJ HQ as ‘Funky Fresh Dressed’ is a constant play. So, now that we’ve revealed our fave from this modern masterpiece, you tell us:

Y’all have no idea how much I love and respect Missy. I love this album, in fact I love all her albums and enjoy The Cookbook. Missy is one hell of underrated female rapper. Unlike her counterparts, Missy didn’t focus too much in s** but the artistic and fun side of rap.

Missy was always so ahead of her time. She never has to release another album again since she is STILLLLL slaying behind the scenes. Buuuuttt if she does, I’d love for her to release an album of straight singing (and a little bit of rap). I love her singing voice and harmonies.

Beyonce may have only just given birth to twins, but she’s already out and about. As reported, Queen Bey was one of a number of superstar’s in attendance at Missy Elliott‘s headlining set at the 2017 FYF Fest last night. She, along with Janet Jackson and Katy Perry, were also said to… Read More

Missy Elliott‘s fanbase is comprised of some pretty big names. The Hip-Hop pioneer headlined the FYF Fest in California last night and rocked out to classics such as ‘Get Ur Freak On’ as well as newer numbers like ‘WTF (Where They From).’ Watching on in the capacity crowd were superstars such as… Read More